The numbers here are for illustrative purposes. I have no idea if they are accurate, but the concept holds even if they are not. Assumption (or wild guess): It costs $20 to manufacture a case of paint that wholesales for $30 that a field sells for $60.

Elite Field Program:

Manufacturer creates a specific line of reserved-color elite field paint that sells wholesale at $70.

Fields who want to be in the elite program must exclusively use this $70 paint at their field, and must agree to charge at least $200/case for it (or $50/500 rounds).

At these prices, players will shoot 25% of the paint they are shooting now, but:

- The manufacturer gets the same amount of margin selling one case instead of 4, plus an extra $10/case (or $2.50 per player).
- The field gets the same amount of margin selling one case instead of 4, plus another $10/case (or $2.50 per customer)
- The field additionally saves 75% on shipping expenses
- The player saves $10 per day on paint. (A player who used to pay $60 to shoot 2000 paintballs will now pay $50 to shoot 500 paintballs.)

The field takes the extra $2.50/player and puts it into improving their field.

The manufacturer takes the extra $2.50/player and gives it back to the elite field in the form of advertising support. The manufacturer creates a general ad campaign, including creative for local media (newspaper, TV, radio, as appropriate) and more importantly targeted ads on Facebook/MySpace. The manufacturer only needs one set of creative for the country that subs in the local Elite field for wherever the ads are targeted. So basically the same ad, swap in different pictures, field name, and addy/contact info.

There.

Fields get more money.
Manufacturers get more money.
Costs for players go down.
Fun for players goes up.
Number of players go up - which leads to even more money for fields and manufacturers.

Everybody wins.

- Chris

do you guys think this will work? Will you play at a field with prices like that? Or will you find somewhere else to play?

(7:11:05 PM) Battlechaser: Did you just slaughter George Clooney and steal his mojo..?

"Death doesn't exist. It never did, it never will. But we've drawn so many pictures of it, so many years, trying to pin it down, comprehend it, we've got to think of it as an entity, strangely alive and greedy."
- from Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked this Way Comes

What is it that keeps drawing me back to buying a Spyder when I can buy any other gun of my choice?!?

Join Date: Feb 2008

Location: Pennsylvania, USA.

Posts: 576

Re: "Higher price, lower volume" fields

In the best words possible... I agree with RSX99. Just not practical, besides my field doesn't charge $60 bucks a case, they charge $50, same price he is saying we should get 500 rounds for? Naa... Well thought out, but just not practical to the player in my view. It would sound good to Fields and Manufactures, but not to me, the Paintballer...

Yup. I"ma broke mexican (not really) trying to play paintball. But you know, like I tell people coming into the sport. It not a cheap one they picked.
I dont play at fields much since we made our own, but if prices went that high then I'd never.

Dont get me wrong. I belive in supporting your local paitball stores and fields but at the same time, some of us are having a hard time supporting ourselves.

(7:11:05 PM) Battlechaser: Did you just slaughter George Clooney and steal his mojo..?

"Death doesn't exist. It never did, it never will. But we've drawn so many pictures of it, so many years, trying to pin it down, comprehend it, we've got to think of it as an entity, strangely alive and greedy."
- from Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked this Way Comes

IMO, limit the amount of paint people can bring on the field, don't gouge them on ammo. It'd just cause a slew of "Renegade" fields to pop up, where there's a lot more chance of someone being hurt (not much of an issue if you play with people that respect the sport, more for the amount of trigger happy nubs out there). Or for that matter, force people to cap their guns to the current PSP cap. No cap, no play.

There are better ways of fixing this issue. Screwing the end customer shouldn't be one of them.